Pelini in 'happy place' as Owls start third week of spring practice

WKU to join Conference USA in 2014.

April 1, 2013|By Dieter Kurtenbach, Sun Sentinel

BOCA RATON — FAU's no-tackle practice Monday started the Owls' third week of its spring session. If the Owls were behind in the installation of their playbook, the stress would start to seep through today, the middle-point of spring practice.

But there was no worry to be found on coach Carl Pelini's face.

"I'm in a happy place, on both sides of the ball," Pelini said.

"The execution is so much better. The competition is better, you can see it," Pelini said. "You don't have guys running wide open, you don't have just complete busts in the pass perfection. Stuff like that. The competition is better because the execution is better."

The offense still has some things it needs to work through in its installation, but for Pelini, a defensive-minded coach, having his defense on schedule allows him to test some of his second and third-string players.

"Every day, we'll take a couple of those younger guys and start mixing them in with the ones," Pelini said. "There've been some guys that have responded. Hopefully that will create some depth for us."

• Thankfully, Pelini didn't burn his team's game-film from the Owls' matchup with Western Kentucky last year.

The Hilltoppers ended a four-month courtship with Conference USA Monday, announcing that WKU will join the conference in 2014.

Pelini took the news with a smile when he was asked about the WKU's inclusion in the Owls' new league.

"Western Kentucky is a good football school. They've had success at every level they've been at. Welcome to the conference," Pelini said. "It just gets stronger and stronger."